Drive and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy lead The London Critics’ Circle

The London Critics’ Circle is delighted to announce the nominations today for its 32nd annual Film Awards in partnership with Virgin Atlantic.

Voted for by over 120 UK film critics, broadcasters and writers, the nominations are lead by TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY and DRIVE, which both receive 6 nominations each. British film TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY directed by Tomas Alfredson is nominated for Film of the Year, British Film of the Year, Screenwriter of the Year, Actor of the Year, British Actor of the Year and The Sky 3D Award for Technical Achievement, whilst DRIVE – directed by fellow Scandinavian Nicolas Winding Refn - is nominated for Film of the Year, Director of the Year, Actor of the Year, Supporting Actor of the Year, The Moët & Chandon Award for British Actress of the Year and The Sky 3D Award for Technical Achievement.

Asghar Farhadi’s Golden Bear (Berlin) winner A SEPARATION and Lynne Ramsay’s WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN have received 5 nominations each whilst Michel Hazanavicius’ THE ARTIST and Steve McQueen’s SHAME have received 4 apiece.

Chairman of the London Critics’ Circle, Jason Solomons, commented:
"I am proud of the breadth, intelligence and style of the choices the London critics have made, honouring the richness of world cinema and the fresh, cool takes on classic movie genres seen in films such as TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, DRIVE and THE ARTIST. This is the surely classiest set of nominations around this year, with truly superb work reflected in the directing and foreign language categories.”

"I'm also thrilled that a London movie such as TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY and the magnetism of its central performance by London icon Gary Oldman has been rightfully recognised with so many nominations across different categories, a reminder of its all-round qualities as a British and international film. It's also gratifying that our new categories of documentary and technical awards have been able to increase our critical appreciation for the outstanding work we've witnessed in this vintage year for quality cinema."

The London Critics' Circle Film Awards in partnership with Virgin Atlantic will reveal its full list of annual award winners at the glittering ceremony on Thursday 19 January at BFI Southbank. The 32nd annual edition of the London Critics' Circle Film Awards will again be in aid of their charity partner, the BFI, to help with the preservation and restoration of British film, in particular Hitchcock's nine silent features, as part of the BFI's landmark 'Rescue the Hitchcock 9’ campaign.

The 32nd London Critics’ Circle Film Awards nominations are as follows:

FILM OF THE YEAR
The Artist (Entertainment)
Drive (Icon)
A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
The Tree of Life (Fox)

The Attenborough Award:
BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
The Guard (StudioCanal)
Kill List (StudioCanal)
Shame (Momentum)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Mysteries of Lisbon (New Wave)
Poetry (Arrow)
Le Quattro Volte (New Wave)
A Separation (Artificial Eye)
The Skin I Live In (Fox/Pathé)

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Picturehouse)
Dreams of a Life (Dogwoof)
Pina (Artificial Eye)
Project Nim (Icon)
Senna (Universal)

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Asghar Farhadi - A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist (Entertainment)
Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life (Fox)
Lynne Ramsay - We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive (Icon)

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Asghar Farhadi - A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist (Entertainment)
Kenneth Lonergan - Margaret (Fox)
Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash - The Descendants (Fox)

The Virgin Atlantic Award:
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILM-MAKER
Richard Ayoade - Submarine (StudioCanal)
Paddy Considine - Tyrannosaur (StudioCanal)
Joe Cornish - Attack the Block (StudioCanal)
Andrew Haigh - Weekend (Peccadillo)
John Michael McDonagh - The Guard (StudioCanal)

ACTOR OF THE YEAR
George Clooney - The Descendants (Fox)
Jean Dujardin - The Artist (Entertainment)
Michael Fassbender - Shame (Momentum)
Ryan Gosling - Drive (Icon)
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Kirsten Dunst - Melancholia (Artificial Eye)
Anna Paquin - Margaret (Fox)
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady (Fox/Pathé)
Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn (Entertainment)

SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Simon Russell Beale - The Deep Blue Sea (Artificial Eye)
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn (Entertainment)
Albert Brooks - Drive (Icon)
Christopher Plummer - Beginners (Universal)
Michael Smiley - Kill List (StudioCanal)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Sareh Bayat - A Separation (Artificial Eye)
Jessica Chastain - The Help (Disney)
Vanessa Redgrave - Coriolanus (Lionsgate)
Octavia Spencer - The Help (Disney)
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom (StudioCanal)

BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Tom Cullen - Weekend (Peccadillo)
Michael Fassbender - A Dangerous Method (Lionsgate), Shame (Momentum)
Brendan Gleeson - The Guard (StudioCanal)
Peter Mullan - Tyrannosaur (StudioCanal), War Horse (Disney)
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)

The Moët & Chandon Award:
BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Olivia Colman - The Iron Lady (Fox/Pathé), Tyrannosaur (StudioCanal)
Carey Mulligan - Drive (Icon), Shame (Momentum)
Vanessa Redgrave - Anonymous (Sony), Coriolanus (Lionsgate)
Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
Rachel Weisz - The Deep Blue Sea (Artificial Eye)

YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
John Boyega - Attack the Block (StudioCanal)
Jeremy Irvine - War Horse (Disney)
Yasmin Paige - Submarine (StudioCanal)
Craig Roberts - Submarine (StudioCanal)
Saoirse Ronan - Hanna (Universal)

The Sky 3D Award:
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Manuel Alberto Claro, cinematography - Melancholia (Artificial Eye)
Paul Davies, sound design - We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)
Maria Djurkovic, production design - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)
Dante Ferretti, production design - Hugo (Entertainment)
Alberto Iglesias, original score - The Skin I Live In (Fox/Pathé)
Chris King & Gregers Sall, editing - Senna (Universal)
Joe Letteri, visual effects - Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Fox)
Cliff Martinez, original score - Drive (Icon)
Robert Richardson, cinematography - Hugo (Entertainment)
Robbie Ryan, cinematography - Wuthering Heights (Artificial Eye)

The Dilys Powell Award:
EXCELLENCE IN FILM
Nicolas Roeg

NB. The British categories refer to the British Isles, and therefore films, filmmakers, actors and actresses from both the UK and Ireland are eligible.
Notes to Editors

The 32nd London Critics’ Circle Film Awards nominations by film:

6 nominations
Drive (Icon)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (StudioCanal)

5 nominations
A Separation (Artificial Eye)
We Need to Talk About Kevin (Artificial Eye)

4 nominations
The Artist (Entertainment)
Shame (Momentum)

3 nominations
The Guard (StudioCanal)
Tyrannosaur (StudioCanal)
Submarine (StudioCanal)

2 nominations
Attack the Block (StudioCanal)
Coriolanus (Lionsgate)
The Deep Blue Sea (Artificial Eye)
The Descendants (Fox)
The Help (Disney)
Hugo (Entertainment)
The Iron Lady (Fox/Pathé)
Kill List (StudioCanal)
Margaret (Fox)
Melancholia (Artificial Eye)
My Week With Marilyn (Entertainment)
Senna (Universal)
The Skin I Live In (Fox/Pathé)
The Tree of Life (Fox)
War Horse (Disney)
Weekend (Peccadillo)

1 nomination
Animal Kingdom (StudioCanal)
Anonymous (Sony)
Beginners (Universal)
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Picturehouse)
A Dangerous Method (Lionsgate)
Dreams of a Life (Dogwoof)
Hanna (Universal)
Mysteries of Lisbon (New Wave)
Pina (Artificial Eye)
Le Quattro Volte (New Wave)
Poetry (Arrow)
Project Nim (Icon)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Fox)
Wuthering Heights (Artificial Eye)



About The Critics’ Circle
Established in 1913, The Critics' Circle is the oldest organisation of its kind in the world, with more than 400 members who work in the UK media as critics of drama, art and architecture, music, film and dance. The Film Section has more than 120 voting members working as film critics, journalists and broadcasters, and has presented its awards annually since 1980.

About the London Critics' Circle Film Awards
Since its first edition in 1980, the London Critics' Circle Film Awards have become one of the most anticipated and glamorous ceremonies in the annual film calendar. In recent years guests and award winners have included Quentin Tarantino, Carey Mulligan, Sienna Miller, Martin Scorsese, Daniel Craig, James McAvoy, Vanessa Redgrave, Sir Michael Caine, Kevin Spacey, Emma Thompson, Marion Cotillard, Lord Attenborough, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett and Albert Finney. Last year’s ceremony was no exception and drew a star-studded red carpet with guests including Colin Firth, Aaron Sorkin, Sam Taylor-Wood, Rosamund Pike, Mike Leigh and Dilys Powell Award recipient, Kristin Scott Thomas.

About the BFI
The BFI is the lead body for film in the UK with the ambition to create a flourishing film environment in which innovation, opportunity and creativity can thrive by:
• Connecting audiences to the widest choice of British and World cinema
• Preserving and restoring the most significant film collection in the world for today and future generations
• Championing emerging and world class film makers in the UK
• Investing in creative, distinctive and entertaining work
• Promoting British film and talent to the world
• Growing the next generation of film makers and audiences

The BFI Southbank is open to all. BFI members are entitled to a discount on all tickets. BFI Southbank Box Office tel: 020 7928 3232. Unless otherwise stated tickets are £9.50, concs £6.75 Members pay £1.50 less on any ticket. Website www.bfi.org.uk/southbank
Tickets for FREE screenings and events must be booked in advance by calling the Box Office to avoid disappointment
BFI Filmstore
The BFI Filmstore is stocked and staffed by BFI experts with over 1,200 book titles and 1,000 DVDs to choose from, including hundreds of acclaimed books and DVDs produced by the BFI.
The benugo bar & kitchen
Eat, drink and be merry in panoramic daylight. benugo’s décor is contemporary, brightly lit and playful with a lounge space, bar and dining area. The place to network, hang out, unpack a film, savour the best of Modern British or sip on a cocktail.

There’s more to discover about film and television through the BFI. Our world-renowned archival collections, cinemas, festivals, films, publications and learning resources are here to inspire you.

About The Hitchcock 9
Rescue the Hitchcock 9 is the BFI’s £2 million fundraising campaign to enable the BFI’s ambitious project to restore and preserve Alfred Hitchcock’s nine surviving silent films and stage screenings for new audiences to enjoy with newly commissioned live music scores launched as part of the London 2012 Festival.
Hitchcock's early films are among the finest achievements of British silent cinema. His subsequent films refined his techniques of stunning visual composition, richly cinematic storytelling linked to dramatic invention, which are uniquely Hitchcock.
The surviving nitrate materials for these films bear the marks of natural wear and tear over the decades. New digital techniques mean that the BFI’s team of technical experts are now in a position to restore scratched and damaged negatives and produce much improved viewing copies.
The BFI are actively seeking more funds to complete the restorations and to enable once in a lifetime events in 2012, from Hitchcock devotees, film lovers or anyone who cares about our cultural history. Even small amounts to help the BFI reach its target and members of the public who would like to save an important and historic film can contribute by visiting www.bfi.org.uk/saveafilm

About the Sponsors
The Critics’ Circle would like to thank all sponsors: Virgin Atlantic are new headline sponsor and sponsor of the Breakthrough British Film-Maker category, Sky 3D are sponsor of new Sky 3D Award for Technical Achievement, Moët & Chandon are the Official Champagne sponsor and sponsor of the Moët & Chandon Award for British Actress of the Year, Audi are the Official Car of the Awards and Chilli UK are the new Official Design Agency. Also with special thanks to Cameo Productions LTD, Home Group and benugo.


Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic is delighted to partner with the London Film Critics’ Circle, for the second year running, to sponsor their 32nd annual awards ceremony. Reflecting their passion for supporting new British talent, Virgin Atlantic will once more sponsor the Breakthrough British Film-maker Award, won last year by Gareth Edwards, director of the ground-breaking movie, Monsters.

For four years, Virgin Atlantic have also teamed up with The National Film and Television School (NFTS) for The Film Festival in the Sky, to platform a selection of some of their best graduate short films, giving Virgin Atlantic passengers the chance to vote for their favourites.